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of the farmers' organization, the Non
rtisan league, began his talk at a
ttle before 9:30 o'clock and it was
five minutes to twelve before he had
completed his address.
IT WAS LARSON'S LINE OF AT
TACK ON THE LEAGUE WHICH
LEADS TO THE BELIEF THAT THE
ORGANIZED FORCES OF BIG
BUSINESS IN THE EAST ARE GO
ING TO FURNISH SOME OF THE
SINEWS OF WAR FOR THE PRES
ENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE
INTERESTS OF THE FARMERS
AND THE LABORING MEN.
ABOUT LARSON'S TAXES
After the Republican candidate
had spent about an hour ridiculing
the Nonpartisan league platform, in
ssating that it was not workable; tell
ing the audience how much more
taxes he paid than did his opponent;
holding up the organization of far
mers as a menace to themselves and
ending with a plea for his support at
the polls next November he launched
into an attack against the League on
account of the "tinge of disloyalty,"
which he said clings to it.
It was right here that the real ob
ject of his address was brought to
ht. He was prepared with a type
written copy of the charges he was
apparently coached in detailing.
Many of the charges he read direct
ly from the manuscript with which he
had been furnished and most of it
sounded like the kind of stuff they
peddled against the farmers in Min
nesota during the primary campaign
/ there last June. It is just the kind i
of dope that is being sent out from
the headquarters of Big Business asi
represented by the copper company,
the packing companies, and other big
Interests that fear the strength of
the organized farmers.
NO TRUTH IN THEM
The whole attack on the loyalty of
the Nonpartisan league was composed
of mistatements and plain untruths.
The rank and file of the member
ship is loyal, according to Mr. Larson,
and all the rest of the enemies of the
League. But its around the leaders
that the "tinge of disloyalty" flut
ters.
The men who have made it pos
aible for the farmers to organize
to such an extent that in the
course of three short years they
have entire control of two states
and have glowing prospects of
controlling in four more as soon
as the results of the November
election are announced, are the
men at whom the charges of dis
loyalty are hurled. There were
but few specific instances men
tioned by Larson but he said
there were scores of cases he
"might mention."
While he was telling of the "con
vletion' 'of one official of the League
a voice in the audience informed the
speaker that the man in question had
been exonerated by the supreme
court of Minnesota.
"Yes," Said Larson, "I believe that
he was released by the supreme court
The Nonpartisan League Platform and What It Stands For
Those who attack the Nonpartisan
league platform are few and far be
tween. The enemies of the League
fulminate against its leaders, they
pretend to be fearfully concerned
about the fact that the farmers pay
dues, they hatch libelous statements
as to the loyalty and integrity of the
organization as a whole, but when
they come to the platform they try
to dismiss it, if they mention it at all,
with the sweepin gassertion that it
is socialistic.
Now it is of no concern to the
farmers and wage earners what the
apologists of disorder and exploita
tion CALL the platform, the vital
point is what does it mean. They
know that it embraces in all nine
planks, each designed to relieve the
producers of much of the burden they
have carried these many years and
the consequence being the hired
champions of special interests, the
politician and his boss fight it tooth
and nail. They are fighting a losing
battle, however, for the League plat
form is in line with modern thought
and furthermore is positively neces
sary in order that the country may
progress and grow strong. The fol
lowing short summary of the plat
form may prove of interest to our
readers and is therefore submitted:
(1) The exemption of farm im
provements from taxation.
A simple thing, but fraught with
great good for the rural communi
ties. It is this. As things stand at
present the very instinct for improve
of Minnesota on a technicality."
SUPREME COURT FLOUTED
But the action of the supreme
I court cuts little figure with Mr. Lar
son when it comes to a declaration
that a lower court was in error in the
I conviction of a League worker. Had
C his attention not been called to the
error it is likely that Larson would
have been willing to let his statement
that the League worker in question
was serving a prison sentence for dis
loyalty stand without correction.
3 It would take too much time and
space to call attention to all the un
truths recited by Larson.
SMORE FABRICATIONS
g At one time during his address he
said that Kate Richards O'Hare, now
under sentence for seditious utter
e ances, had made 125 speeches for the
Nonpartisan league in North Dakota.
There is not a word of truth in the
d statement except that the .oman was
t in North Dakota once. bhe never
d made a speech for the League nor
n has she ever had any connection with
the organization. Larson criticized
the action of Arthur Le Seuer, an at
torney in the employ of the League,
o for acting as advisory counsel for the
I. W. W. at some time or other, but
s he did not mention the tact that
Miss O'Hare had for her attorney,
when she was tried for sedition, a
e North Dakota attorney who is active
.t in his support of the anti-League
y forces and who was not criticized for
his action. It makes a difference to
n Mr. Larson who is defending alleged
d seditionists and disloyalists. A
n League attorney must not do it, but
s it is all right for the other fellow to
get the money in any manner which
g presents itself.
f STATE OWNERSHIP STORY
He also made a charge that the
League in North Dakota stands for
f state ownership of farm lands and
d farm machinery. This of course is
untrue, as any one who wishes to can
ascertain. Publicity was given such
I, a story by the Old Gang in North
e Dakota, but there was not even any
s foundation for the statement. It took
Larson over and hour to detail the
charges against the League and most
of his statements were of the kind
mentioned above, neither facts nor
based upon facts.
In fact, the entire mass of fabri
cation with which he had been fur
nished was baseless in fact and utter
ly ridiculous in construction. It was
simply a repetition of the stuff
which has been used, without effect,
in other state campaigns.
DAVIS MAKES ANSWER
In his five minutes of rebuttal Mr.
Davis completely discredited the
charges made by his opponent by
reading from statements and speeches
of federal officials, including Presi
e dent Wilson, Secretary of War Baker
e and Secretary of the Navy Daniels
d and George Creel, chairman of the
e committee on public information.
!These remarks, addresses and procla
mations have been based upon fed
t eral investigations and not in one of
ment on the farm is penalized. From
the point of view of mere cash-and
alas as things are arranged at pres
ent that is of paramount importance,
it "pays" to refrain from building a
substantial home, to erect a trim and
efficient fence or a modern sanitary
barn. There is a premium upon lay
ing aside the paint brush and main
taining a most distressing shabbiness,
for every attempt in the direction of
improvement is appraised by the as
sessor and the penalty levied. The
exemption of farm improvements
from taxation would remove this in
iquity and give great impetus to the
building and maintaing of real farm
homes.
(2) Rural credit banks operated at
cost.
The subject involved in this plank
is broad and deep and calls for a deal
of study, including an examination of
the systems already established in
other countries. The vital point how
ever is that the rural credit system
is not an Utopian attempt to get
something for nothing, but is a scien
tific method of financing farm opera
tions and carrying farmers over hard
spots by (1) breaking down the arti
ficially high rates of interest already
prevailing, (2) by altering the mo
tive involved in the process from the
mere accumulation of dividends,
which is the prime reason for bank
ing today, to the sustaining and sup
porting of one of the most important
industries of the world. Instead of
making a bank raise dividends and
them is there a charge of disloyalty
against the farmers and their organ
ization. In fact, they even go so far
as to state that the League is not to
be disturbed in its activities, that
mob violence must be stopped and
that the winning of the war is the
paramount issue at the present date.
CROWD APPLAUDS DAVIS
When Mr. Davis completed his talk
and the reading of the statements of I
federal officials, there was a ver- I
itable storm of applause, members of t
the audience stamped upon the floor, I
threw their hats into the air and in i
other unmistakable manners showed 1
there approval of the stand of the
speaker. More than a hundred who
were in the audience when Mr. Lar
son began his long speech had de
parted before the two and a half
hours he consumed had gone by.
Charges of disloyalty against the i
men who have organized their League
do not go well with the farmers of
Montana and if the enemies of the
League expect to get very far in their
campaign it is apparent that they I
will have to adopt different tactics.
"Don't organize now," pleaded
Larson at one time during his ad
dress. "Wait until after the war and
then do not follow the men who are
now at the head of your organiza
tion."
It was the old cry of the politician
who feels himself slipping. They
realize the strength of the organized
farmer and know that it spells defeat
for the old conditions whereby they
were able to profit by the very fact
that there was no organization
among the farmers and they know
that the farmers and laboring men
of Montana are going to stick this
fall and that they are going "over the
top" to political victory in the No
vember election.
liberty Bond Campaign
Will Bring Great Money
(Continued from Page One)
the people as to how they are going
I to get thru the winter and feed and
clothe themselves, and there are in
stances, no doubt, where there is not
going to be any great oversubscrip
tions, and possibly some of the places
" where the subscriptions will fall be
low the quota, but in no case will the
failures, if there are any, be credited
to any lack of desire, to any absence
of patriotism or to anything that will
cause criticism to be cast upon a
community.
There will be the usual terms of
payment arranged for those who will
not be able to pay all in cash.
The bonds make the best invest
bment possible at the present time.
While the principal appeal for their
purchase is made from the stand
point of helping the government, the
fact should never be lost sight of
that you are only loaning your money
to Uncle Sam, that the loan is se
mothing ele, the Rural Credit system
makes the bank assist very power
fully in the raising of grain.
(3) State terminal elevators, ware
houses, flour mills, stock yards, pack
ing houses, creameries and cold stor
age plants.
The rapid transition from privately
owned to state owned and operated
public utilities all over the world
makes it the plain duty of the people
of this nation to get in line or be
outdistanced. It means in the case
of terminal elevators, etc., the estab
lishing of huge storehouses for the
farmer so that the threshed, grain
will no longer lay in the field and
rot for want of proper housing condi
tions in the event of bumper crops, as
has so often been the case in the past.
It means the manipulation of grain
prices by chambers of commerce, in
which 300 imaginary cars have been
sold to one real one, will tend to dis
appear and, above all, this plank
means that the principle of control
over the necessities of life by those
who make and use them is in a fair
way to be established, always pro
viding-and this is the most impor
tant point-that the PEOPLE EXER
CISE THE CONTROL and do not,
through negligence or want of under
standing, leave it in the hands of
gang politicians.
(4) State hail insurance.
Also a method whereby the return
for labor expended in the production
of crops is rendered more secure by
the automatic insurance of all grain
Knows League is Loyal
Judson King of Washington, D. C.,
who is executive secretary of the
Popular Government league and who
has been making a speaking tour of
the northwest for the Nonpartisan
league during the past summer, said
in a recent speech he made in Boise,
Idaho:
"I am for this war to the bitter
end until military autocracy and all
that goes with it are forever crushed.
And so is the Nonpartisan league. To
the honest-minded people of Idaho
who want to know the truth, but,
misled by newspapers and loose talk,
are doubtful as to the loyalty of this
organization, I want to address this
question:
"Why is it that the charges of dis
loyalty all come from county and
state officials If Townley is a trai
tor, if this league is seditious, why
has no arrest nor hindrance ever
come from the Federal government?
"The answer is because Washing
ton knows and President Wilson him
self personally knows that the league
officers and members are loyal and
are patriotically supporting his poli
cies. He knows it from convention
cured by the best of security and that
you will get your money back with a
good rate of interest and in the
meantime it will have been working
for you that this may be made a safe
country to live in and that the entire
world may be relieved of the yoke of
autocracy.
BUY LIBERTY BONDS, BUY
THEM EARLY. AND BUY A LOT
OF THEM. IT IS YOUR PA
TRIATIC DUTY AND A MIGHTY
GOOD INVESTMENT.
SERVICE STARS FOR MANY
Hundreds of Relatives of Leaguers in
Government Service
Members of the Nonpartisan league
over the state of Montana are taking
great interest in the plan for securing
a service flag for the state. Scores
of members have renlied to the re
quest of the Leader for the names of
any of their relatives who are in the
service of Uncle Sam. whether in this
country or abroad. It is the plan of
the Leader to secure the names of all
members or relatives of members
who have entered the army or navy,
either thru voluntary enlistment or
by the way of the selective service
act.
Get busy at once if you have not
answered this appeal. We want the
names of every one entitled to a place
on the flag. The sooner you answer
the sooner the job will be complete.
Why not declare an embargo on
lip patriotism?
fields in a county or subdivision
thereof. The monies for such opera
tions are raised by a tax on ALL
LANDS of from three to five cents
per acre. It means that the farmer
who suffers from hail will not have
to undergo the humiliating dickering
which is usual with hail insurance
companies and that he will not find
himself bankrupt in the fall, as is so
often the case now.
(5) State inspection of dockage ando
grading.
A method of removing from the!
line elevator buyer the ungrateful
task of making his wages out of
dockage and undergrading, by estab
lishing a state grading and dockage
department under the control of a
competent scientist to whom disputes
may be submitted and whose judg
ment is final and binding upon both
parties. Many thousands of dollars
are saved yearly to the farmers of
North Dakota by this law alone.
(6) Torrens land title system.
An arrangement whereby the ex
cessive charges of handling matter
pertaining to title deeds are elim
inated. Registrars' offices are estab
lished as part of the state machinery
where all matters relating to clouds
and uncertainties on titles are re
ferred and where all information
about such things can be obtained
for a nominal charge, ranging from
25 cents to five dollars.
(7) Nonpartisan election law.
A system of nomination by five or
more electors and their candidate,
resolutions and telegrams sent him
direct. He knows it from A. C.
Townley in person.
"He knows it from his trusted
personal advisers and confidants-
men like William Kent of California,
ex-congressman, and appointed by
the president as a leading member
of the United States tariff commis
sion.
"I know. I have seen the tele
grams and letters and answers.
"He knows it finally from the re
ports of the thousand-eyed secret
service bureau of the Federal De
partment of Justice.
"Before I left Washington, a high
official of this department, who
knows whereof he speaks, told me
that the federal government knows
the Nonpartisan league is loyal and
is doing all it can to help the presi
dent. and that the accusation of dis
loyalty and socialism against it are
being made for political purposes by
local and state politicians and finan
cial interests whose supremacy was
threatened by the league who were
fighting to keep themselves in
power."
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Leaguers Should Write to Leader and
Tell of Conditions in Their
Vicinity
One of the most important and in
teresting departments of the Montana
Leader is going to be that portion de
voted to the reproduction of letters
written by the readers of the paper.
We want them often and from all
parts of the state. There may be
some problem you have solved in
your neighborhood that is bothering
the Leaguers in some other part of
the state and your solution may make
it easier for some other member of
the league. Tell us about League
meetings, how the campaign is going
and what the other fellows are do
ing. Be sure and sign you name, not
necessarily for publication, but so we
may know who is writing. Address
the letter as follows: "The Montana
Leader. Box 1625, Great Falls, Mont."
A number of letters which have
been received have not been printed
yet, but will be in an early issue.
Over in Minnesota. whei'e they
suppressed free speech and attempt
ed to deport farmers from the state,
they are afraid of federal intervention
aimed to protect the constitutional
I rights of citizens. Look out for those
who try to enforce their opinions by
might rather than reason and logic.
They are just like the Iluns our boys
are trying to put in the clear "over
there."-The Stnltsman County Press,
Jamestown, N. D.
i with or without a money deposit. A
ballot at the general election carrying
the names of the candidates only
; without stating to what party they
belong.
(8) Equal taxation of railroads,
mines, telegraph, telephone, electric
light and power companies and all
public utility corporations.
A method of taxation in which all
industries bear a burden in propor
tion to their earning capacity and
where no favored company or corpo
ration is tolerated. The elimination
I of coppor-dictated tax methods in
[ which, as all know, the great smelters
.! and mines escape with nominal tax
ation and leave the burden of financ
ing the state to the small fry.
(9) Rural telephone system oper
ated at cost.
The most modern method of estab
lishing communication between
farmers and the city and knitting
rural communities together. Of great
advantage to cattle and hog buyers
who do not, under this system, have
to spend large sums driving about
the country to obtain information,
which they can get from the hotel
lobby by phone. It also enables farm
ers to market more effectively and
keeps them in touch with prices and
conditions. The hallmark of a mod
ern farming community.
Operation at cost is simply with
enough well paid employes to run the
plant and no PURELY ORNAMEN
TAL officials or useless dividend
drawers.